Blog | Made4Fighters

Highlights from Polaris 3

Posted by Made4Fighters
on April 23, 2016

The UK was fortunate enough to host one of Europe’s most prestigious, and toughest, submission only events this month. The Lighthouse at Poole was the destination for a number of the world’s leading MMA athletes, as they locked horns in submission only style rules on April 2nd. A packed crowd took in an eventful show, with most of the bouts living up to their hype, and all of them delivering on their promise to showcase some of the most polished MMA and grappling skills from the global talent pool. Unfortunately, or not depending on your viewpoint, a clash between two of the competitors stole much of the post-event media attention and coverage, but we’ll get to that after looking at a couple of our favourite matches of the night.

Main event lives up to its billing - Garry Tonon Vs. Palhares

This bout took top billing at Polaris 3, and the monstrous Palhares would enjoy a significant size advantage in what was truly a styles clash. Both are submission aficionados, favouring kneelocks and footlocks, and both exchanged a barrage of submission attempts right from the off. Many are calling this the match of the night, with the highlight package, Palhares lifting Tonon clear off his feet for a crushing suplex, before Tonon retaliated with an equally impressive back take midway through the match. Although things slowed down towards the end of the 15-minute time limit, it was a true fight to the finish, although neither man was able to secure the all important submission finish. A deserved draw and one hell of a contest.

In what was definitely the most fiercely competitive match of the night, Agazarm managed to back up his plan to play for a draw against Jake Shields, although neither man was happy with the antics of the other in the clash. Shields, who is notable for his time in the UFC, as well as for being part of the ‘Skrap Pack’, which includes the Diaz Brothers, took exception to Agazarm’s approach and called him out after the 15 minute time limit couldn’t separate the two. Shields refused to shake the hand of his opponent, before chasing him down with a ‘Stockton Slap’. He also had further fighting words for Agazarm that we won’t repeat here, but the gist of it was intended to put into questioning the manhood of Agazarm, to put it lightly.

This clip went viral almost as soon as it had happened, and just in case you’ve somehow managed to miss the scuffle, you can watch the video to see exactly what went down in the aftermath of Shields’ clash with AJ Agazarm:

Best of the rest

Augusto Mendes Vs. Eddie Cummings - Draw

Bruno Frazatto Vs. Gianni Grippo (GI) - Draw

Gezary Matuda Vs. Laurence Fouillat (GI) - Draw

Darragh O Conaill Vs. Jon Satava (GI) - Draw

Geo Martinez Vs. Luiz Tosta (No GI) - Draw

Joao Miyao Vs. Yukinori Sasa (GI) - Draw

Draws all round then, lots of evenly matched contests at Polaris 3, but no shortage of effort and the feedback from the fans packed into the event has been overwhelmingly positive.

Eddie Bravo Invitational 6

We’re certain that Polaris 3 managed to whet your appetite for elite submission only action, and you’re in luck as the equally prestigious Eddie Bravo Invitational is going down this weekend on April 24th in a recently changed venue. The event will now take place in California, and will feature the likes of Fabian Bolanos, Lucas Rocha, Eddie Cummings and more bona fide greats of grappling.

Were you one of the fans packed into the Lighthouse at Poole? Let us know your highlights from the event by following Made4Fighters on social media, or leaving a comment below. If you’ve been inspired by the action-packed submission only events and want to get involved, why not head over and browse our specialised
MMA apparel, as well as our top-notch BJJ and No Gi gear, including our BJJ Kimonos.

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